Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Did you know? Canada is the largest exporter of oats in the world, and much of those oats are grown here in Saskatchewan.

The bulk of Saskatchewan's oats are shipped to the United States and processed into the brand name cereals and granola bars you find in the grocery stores.

You can also buy oats from smaller local companies, like the package of organic oat groats (in the picture) that went into my morning oatmeal. The brand is Willow Creek, which is based in Watson, Saskatchewan.

The night before, mix steel-cut oats with water and bring to a boil. Simmer 5 min. Remove from heat, cover and leave out overnight. In the morning, add another 1/2 cup water and bring to a simmer. Add the salt, cinnamon and dried apple. Cook, stirring, until desired porridge consistency is achieved. Stir in the honey and eat!

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

SOD paired up top chefs with local celebrities and some of our best farmers to stage a series of dinners around the province focussing on organic Saskatchewan-grown foods.

I had the privilege of attending Dine with the Stars at Weczeria in Saskatoon, where Chef Dan Walker performed for a select group including star authors Yann Martel and his wife Alice Kuipers. The menu:

Golden Beet Soup

Pear and Apple Salad with Blue Cheese

Rye Gnocchi with Pastrami Cream

Northern Pike with Wild Rice and Blueberries

Crème Brulée with Sour Cherry Compote

Dine with the Stars dinners were recorded and will be broadcast at a later date. Watch here for details.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Interested in shaping the future of food in Saskatchewan? Attend the first Saskatchewan Food Summit March 2 & 3 in Saskatoon. The summit will examine the barriers, challenges and solutions to beefing up the local food economy. You'll find the agenda and registration information on the U of S website. See you there!

Wednesday, January 05, 2011

Ug. Bad cold. But a good excuse to drink my tea with a slice of Saskatchewan-grown lemon.

Sorry, I can't tell you where to get your hands on these lemons because they're not for sale -- yet. They were bred by a local horticulturist specifically for indoor growing on the prairies. The plan is to make them available within the year, so watch here for details.

Tuesday, January 04, 2011

With my commitment to fill the year with Saskatchewan fruit, I've ditched the maple syrup in favour of locally-grown fruit syrups, such as this wild blueberry syrup from Over the Hill Orchards, which we ate this morning on french toast.

Over the Hill Orchards has a store in Lumsden. In Saskatoon, their products are available at the Saskatchewan Made Marketplace and online store. Yummmmm...

Monday, January 03, 2011

I had time over the holidays to make a batch of apple rosemary jelly, which goes very well with pork chops, sausages and anything venison. I picked the apples from my neighbour's tree, which hangs abundantly over my back fence, and made the juice last summer. The rosemary isn't local -- my friend Colin brought it back from his property on Hornby Island. Oh well, it's hard to be pure Saskatchewan in the middle of winter...

To make Apple Rosemary Jelly, follow instructions for plain old apple jelly, adding a generous sprig of rosemary to the jelly as it's cooking in the pot. Remove the rosemary before pouring the hot jelly into jars. Before placing the lids, add a small flourish of fresh rosemary to each jar.

For a quicker method, buy a jar of apple jelly from the farmers' market. Melt the jelly in a saucepan, adding some fresh rosemary for flavour. Clean the jar and pour the jelly back into it to cool. Voila!

Saturday, January 01, 2011

Every year, I make a food-related New Year's resolution. I find these resolutions are much easier to keep! So, my 2011 resolution is to eat more Saskatchewan-grown fruit: to beg, buy, u-pick, forage and by any other possible means try every fruit that grows in Saskatchewan and discover great ways to serve it. And to post it on this blog, of course...

Amy Jo Ehman

Give the Great Taste of Saskatchewan!

prairie feast

"Out of Old Saskatchewan Kitchens" celebrates the colourful people and recipes that populated our province. It follows my first book "Prairie Feast: A Writer's Journey Home for Dinner." Saskatchewan tastes great -- I wrote the book on it!!